The term "forbearance" means to suspend payment on a loan, such as a mortgage.

In plain English for renters, that means if the owner of the property you rent has a mortgage backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, your landlord cannot evict you if you are late or miss rent payments due to the coronavirus. That could mean a job loss or a diagnosis of COVID-19 and the resulting medical bills.

To fill that void, many city, county, and state governments across the country have taken action to place a hold on evictions during this crisis. But in those states without orders in place to stop evictions, many people will still be facing the prospect of eviction.